Page 94 of Crave Me

“Or Nyx,” Kieran added.

Vesperus glanced at him again, causing the other leader to lift his hands.

“She was attacked by a bespelled bullet that nearly killed her, Veritas. Seems rather pointed to me, considering everyone else was fine,” he explained. “Almost like it was a revenge attack.”

My brow furrowed. “Revenge for what?” I asked. “According to your laws, all I’ve done wrong is arrive via informal means.”

“Illegal means,” he corrected me. “And I’m not talking about revenge on you, but revenge on your mate. Hurting you hurts him. So I’ll ask again—have you pissed anyone off lately, Veritas?”

“You can hear the truth in my words already, Aspen,” Vesperus returned.

“That’s not exactly how my power works. However, whether or not you’re speaking the truth doesn’t truly answer the question, does it?” he pressed. “Just because you can’t think of something immediately doesn’t mean your response is the truth.”

I frowned. “He’s a truth seeker, too?” I asked, glancing at the rare vampire-fae hybrid.

“Yes. Apparently, he was stabbed by a sword infused with a god’s blood, and now he can compel others to speak the truth.” Vesperus gave the male an appraising look before glancing at me. “It’s what we were discussing when you arrived. Well, that and Kieran’s claim that there hadn’t been enough time for him to bring anyone other than himself today.”

“Not a claim,” the other leader interjected.

“You’re right. It was a lie,” Vesperus replied.

Kieran simply shrugged in response, not bothering to deny it.

“Sort of accelerates an interrogation when there are two literal lie detectors in the room,” Kaspian murmured. “But at least we know the phantoms are innocent.”

“Yes, the bullet fragments have magic on them, not toxins,” Kieran replied. “Old magic. But I don’t recognize it.”

“You can sense it?” I asked, even more curious about him.

“I can sense the blood in it,” he corrected. “Ancientblood.” His attention shifted to Vesperus. “This has been a very interesting visit, my indebted friend. It seems I’m helping you solve all the riddles.”

“And here I thought you didn’t give a fuck about anyone other than yourself, Aspen.”

He drummed his fingers against the table, his expression thoughtful. “I care about Sabrina. And she cares about Death and Diamond. So making good with the local monarch and his goddess mate seems like a practical move on my part.”

His accent was decidedly not Scottish. Which I supposed made sense. From what I understood, he came from the House of Blood and Beryl, and they were located along the west coast of the former United States.

“We’re losing sight of the discussion,” Kaspian interjected. “We’re looking for a female who might have a cause for revenge. And as she attacked Nyx, it seems rather personal to Vesperus.”

“I don’t think she’s the one who attacked me,” I said, frowning. “I think… I just think she’s somehow involved.” Because why else would she have been standing there? And why did my magic seem drawn to her?

“Which means we need to find whoever it is and ask some questions,” Kaspian translated. “But I agree this is somehow linked to your recent ties to Nyx. This attack was meant to hurt you, perhaps to remove her as your fated mate. The question is,why?”

“You said she appeared broken?” Vesperus asked me. “Like her soul was fractured?”

I nodded. “Yes, like she was in a great deal of pain.”

Vesperus considered that for a moment, his hand leaving my lower back. “Like her soul had been broken. Potentially by losing a fated mate.” His gaze went to Kaspian as the other man clicked a button to drop a screen from the ceiling.

“I see where you’re going with this, mate,” he said, a keyboard seeming to appear out of thin air. “There’s only one recent death that I’m aware of involving a fated mate.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Fallon Doyle,” he replied, typing in the name and hitting Enter.

The woman’s photo appeared, making me gasp. “Stars…” It was her. Yet not. She appeared a lot more vibrant in this picture, her lips curling into a pleasing smile, her green eyes radiant and alive.Beautiful, I thought.Not broken.

“Is that her?” Vesperus asked me.